Century lands debut from TikTok’s ‘funniest comedian’ Morris

Century has landed Me vs Brain: An Overthinker’s Guide to Life, the first book by comedy writer and social media star Hayley Morris.  

Zennor Compton, senior commissioning editor, commissioned and acquired world rights for the book from Milly Bell at InterTalent Group. Me vs Brain will be published in hardback and e-book on 23rd March 2023.  

Morris has been dubbed “TikTok’s funniest comedian” by the Sunday Times. Growing popularity and success has led to Morris accumulating close to four million followers across TikTok and Instagram.  

When lockdown boredom settled in during January 2021, Morris decided to create a social channel filled with taboo-smashing comic sketches. Often you will find her embodying various body parts such as the brain, uterus and bladder, dissecting the internal dialogues that are a part of our everyday lives. Me vs Brain provides a commentary on living with intrusive thoughts and anxiety. Confronting overthinking as both a blessing and a curse, Morris explores the moments when the brain and body refuse to co-operate.  

Compton said: “I’m so excited to be working with Hayley whose videos have me howling with laughter and wincing with recognition. She’s also a brilliant comedic writer and I know readers will love her funny, relatable and taboo-busting book. Underneath Hayley’s quick humour is an important message of self-acceptance and I know her book will reassure readers as well as providing much-needed laughs. We’re immensely proud to be publishing Me vs Brain at Century, and I know we’re going to have great fun doing so.” 

Morris commented: “I cannot even begin to explain how happy I am to be writing this book. Comedy is a lifelong passion of mine. Since I was young, I have been performing comedy sketches my dad would write for my brother and I. No one would see them but they form some of my favourite childhood memories. When I lost my dad in 2021, I decided I wanted to do everything I could to make him proud. He was an incredible writer and wrote a few books in his time, but sadly he never got round to getting them published. Writing Me Vs Brain is not only a dream come true and something I am so excited about; it is also a tribute to my father and everything he taught me. I hope this book will bring people laughter, but I also hope it will help them to feel more comfortable with themselves and to know they are far from being alone in their overthinking.”